Enabling library and information services through mobile wireless platforms : challenges and opportunities

Abstract

Mobile wireless devices are and will be more popular in the future as service platform of choice, to provide several societal, business and governmental services. Applications such as library access, bank transactions and health information,... can now be performed, albeit in a limited fashion, using mobile devices. Government applications allowing constituents to send messages to their representatives in parliament, and people access to services & relevant information through messaging enquiries has been implemented in some countries. As we look to the 2020 timeframe and the future, mobile phones will provide even more opportunities to address library and information access services without the existing time and geographical limitations. However, they also face challenges with regard to delivering trustworthy and advanced multimedia based societal services, not to mention the crucial mobile ICT infrastructure issue of a reliable and affordable mobile broadband access to the internet and web-based library services. The keynote, will address the technological and policy issues that has to be addressed to overcome the challenges and enable the necessary, relevant and innovative societal services such as mobile multimedia library access services be provided to people in South Africa and other emerging market countries.